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"If you're going to panic, do it fast and beat the crowd." ~ Jesse Livermore

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Greece: From the Drama to the Drachma

Greece: From the Drama to the Drachma - increasingly heard more and more - Greeks should leave the euro for the drachma:

For Greece, Life Wouldn't End After Leaving The Euro
Wall Street Journal
For Greeks, leaving may not be as bad as what the rest of the euro zone is painting. Historical data based on past trading of the drachma suggest a euro exit wouldn't be cataclysmic and likely would spark more interest in the country's debt, ...

Risk of contagion if Greece exits euro: WestLB
Reuters Blogs (blog)
Greece's economy, at around $300 billion, is very small compared to the euro zone as a whole. The problem is if other countries follow suit – or are pressured in that direction by stubborn financial markets. Such a scenario doesn't bear thinking about ...

Fitch warns euro zone of downgrades if Greeks exit
Reuters
LONDON May 11 (Reuters) - Credit rating agency Fitch put the whole of the euro zone on notice on Friday that were Greece to leave the currency bloc as a result of its current crisis, the remaining countries could find their sovereign ratings at risk.

Spain, France get EU budget alert, Greece agonises
Reuters
Last ditch efforts to form a Greek government after last Sunday's inclusive election ran into trouble and ratings agency Fitch said a Greek exit would damage all 17 euro zone countries and prompt it to review their credit ratings.

Euro Zone's Two-Pack In Jeopardy
Wall Street Journal (blog)
A second official, from a euro-zone government, said there is still strong support for the measure among the more fiscally conservative euro zone members such as Germany, Finland and the Netherlands. However, the person said that if the parliament ...

Fitch may put euro-zone states on negative watch
MarketWatch
By Melodie Warner Fitch Ratings warned it would likely place the sovereign ratings of all euro-area member states on watch for a possible downgrade if Greece decides to leave the euro zone. Results from Sunday's national elections showed Greece's two ...

More angst for Spain as EU finds budget off target
Reuters
* Spanish deficit seen well above targets this year and next * France, the Netherlands may miss 2013 deficit reduction deadline * Euro zone economy to grow 1.0 pct in 2013 By Jan Strupczewski BRUSSELS, May 11 (Reuters) - Recession in Spain this year ...

Spain and France raise budget flags, Greek talks stall
Reuters
France, the euro zone's second largest economy, will also miss its 2013 budget deficit goal of 3 percent by a wide margin, the Commission said, meaning new President Francois Hollande will have to take swift action to cut spending and raise taxes.

EU predicts 0.3 pct eurozone contraction in 2012
BusinessWeek
The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, forecasts that the eurozone economy will contract by 0.3 percent in 2012 and grow by 1 percent next year. Its prediction for 2012 is far weaker than the one it gave last November, when it predicted ...

Gold Prices Weakening on Eurozone Concerns
Business Insider
By Dave Brown — Exclusive to Gold Investing News Gold prices have declined this week due to concerns over the Eurozone debt crisis, including resistance from voters in France and opposition to austerity measures in Greece.

Germany: Eurozone could cope with Greece exit
The Seattle Times
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble is suggesting the eurozone could deal with an abrupt exit by Greece, even though he says he doesn't want that to happen. The Associated Press No comments have been posted to this article.

EU economic forecasts to shine spotlight on Spain
Chicago Tribune
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission will issue macroeconomic forecasts on Friday for all 27 countries in the European Union and the 17 members of the euro zone, with Spain in focus as it battles to bring its budget deficit down to within EU ...

Westerwelle backs growth pact, warns Greece
Chicago Tribune
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's foreign minister laid out a six-point plan for a European "growth pact" on Friday, but said Greece must stick to its reform commitments if it wanted to receive further aid and remain in the euro zone.

Hello Drachma, Bye-Bye Euro Zone For Greece
MarketWatch
The decline of Greek equities has been so rapid in recent days that GREK is now trading well below the $14 area at which it debuted in December 2011 and things could worse not better in the near-term for Greece and other Euro Zone members, ...

EU Forecasts Underline Hollande's Challenges
Wall Street Journal
He has pledged to temper the emphasis on euro-zone austerity and infuse the currency bloc with growth-boosting policies to overcome its debt crisis that forced governments to slash spending. Nations including Spain, Ireland, and Italy have fallen into ...

Eurozone set for slow recovery, says EU
AFP
By Laurent Thomet (AFP) – 1 hour ago BRUSSELS — The eurozone is heading for slow recovery from recession later this year but Spain and France will miss deficit targets, the EU said on Friday, piling pressure on countries already facing budget cuts.AFP

Greek euro exit no longer unthinkable
The Seattle Times
If it cannot get more rescue loans, Greece will go bankrupt and likely have to leave the eurozone, the currency union of 17 countries. What would happen if Greece left the euro? How much damage would that do to it and other countries in the eurozone?

Germany: Eurozone could cope with Greece exit
San Francisco Chronicle
(05-11) 01:12 PDT BERLIN, Germany (AP) -- German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble is suggesting the eurozone could deal with an abrupt exit by Greece, even though he says he doesn't want that to happen. Schaeuble was quoted by the Rheinische Post ...

Germans Fret Over CPI As Politicians Try To Lower Imbalances
Wall Street Journal
Amid increasing calls for Germany to do more to help reduce economic disparity in a euro zonemired in the sovereign debt crisis, hyperinflation fears rooted in the country's experiences in the 1920s are resurfacing and Germans are becoming ...

Germany to Euro Zone: Do as We Say, Not as We Do
Wall Street Journal
By STEPHEN FIDLER Germany's solution to the euro-zone crisis is for other countries to become more like Germany. Or at least more like the way Germany sees itself. For some economists, it's not so much that the advice is wrong, it's that the timing is ...

Brent falls below $112, euro zone woes weigh
Reuters
The common currency hit a 3-1/2 month low as investors fretted about the risk of Greece exiting the euro zone, while the dollar edged up versus a basket of currencies. A stronger dollar makes commodities priced in the greenback expensive for holders of ...

Eurozone economy to shrink by 0.3%, EU Commission says
BBC News
The eurozone economy is forecast to shrink this year as its debt crisis continues to bite. The European Commission's spring forecast confirmed its prediction of a 0.3% contraction in 2012 in the economies of the 17 countries that use the euro.BBC News

Germany tells Greece not to stray if it wants cash
Chicago Tribune
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany told Greece on Friday that staying in the euro zone was its own choice and that it must not stray from austerity if it expects to get international cash. It also laid out its support for a European 'growth pact' in an attempt ...

What Can Americans Learn from the Eurocrisis « naked capitalism
By Yves Smith
What Can Americans Learn from the Eurocrisis. At the risk of looking like NC has become the “all Michael Hudson, all the time” channel, we're featuring his latest talk with Real News Network. He discusses how and why candidates make ...
naked capitalism

Wolfgang Schaeuble, German Finance Minister: Eurozone Would ...
By The Huffington Post News Editors
BERLIN -- German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble is suggesting the eurozone could deal with an abrupt exit by Greece, even though he says he doesn't want that to happen. Schaeuble was quoted by the Rheinische Post newspaper ...
The Huffington Post | Full News Feed

Keep Talking Greece » Blog Archive » German FinMin: “Euro Zone ...
By keeptalkinggreece
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble shamelessly states that after two years of Greek crisis, “the euro zone area is enough protected and can do without Greece”, public surveys show that 73% of the Germans wish Greece exits the ...
Keep Talking Greece